175: Ju-Fang Liu on growing up in Taiwan, the path from student to principal bassist, and a love of teaching

Indianapolis Symphony principal bassist Ju-Fang Liu

Today’s episode features Indianapolis Symphony principal bassist Ju-Fang Liu. We had a great conversation about growing up in Taiwan, her years studying at the Interlochen Arts Academy and at Indiana University with Lawrence Hurst and Bruce Bransby, her time in New World, teaching, playing jazz, studying bass overseas, and several other topics.

We also feature excerpts from her wonderful solo album, which I highly recommend checking out—it really is bass playing at its finest. Enjoy!

About Ju-Fang:

Ju-Fang Liu was appointed Principal Bass of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra by Maestro Mario Venzago in 2003, shortly after receiving her bachelor and master’s degrees in double bass performance from Indiana University. There she studied with notable bass pedagogues Bruce Bransby and Larry Hurst. In addition, she has worked with other internationally-known teachers such as Edwin Barker, Edger Meyer, Harold Robinson, Stuart Stankey, Lawrence Wolf and Tim Cobb.

Ms. Liu’s musical interests encompass all aspects of musical performance. She was a repeat performer in the world-renowned Marlboro Music Festival working with the top chamber music professionals of our time as well as performing in the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals. A sensitive and thoughtful performer, she is constantly in demand in Indianapolis’ various chamber music venues.

Ju-Fang has been a finalist for the Boston Symphony as well as for the Atlanta Symphony Principal position in 2014, and has appeared with the Chicago Symphony. In addition, she has performed as co-principal with the New World Symphony. Her solo concerto performances have included the Bottesini, Koussevitzky and Tubin concerti, the latter performed under the baton of Maestro Venzago. She is also the first performer to win both the Solo and Orchestral Categories (Adult/Professional) of the International Society of Bassists competitions.

Ju-Fang has always had a serious interest in teaching and pedagogy and has previously taught at DePauw University and Indiana University. She joined the faculty of the Butler University School of Music in Indianapolis in 2014. Ms. Liu has given master classes in Columbia, working with the Filarmónica Joven de Colombia and has been a guest artist at the Taipei National School of the Arts and the Beijing Central Conservatory and other conservatories in China and Taiwan, performing recitals and giving classes.

Always seeking to improve her musical scope, Ju-Fang was awarded a Creative Renewal Grant from the Arts Council of Indianapolis and has added the electric bass and jazz study to her resume. Her solo cd is available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/JuFangLiu.

174: Per questa bella mano with John Grillo

Today’s episode features longtime collaborator John Grillo performing Mozart’s aria Per questa bella mano. So, today’s episode features John performing Per Questa Bella Mano with John Dennison singing and Andrew Hauze on piano.

In addition to being our third interview guest for the podcast way back in 2007 (almost ten years ago at this point!), John and I have co-interviewed many prominent bassists over the years, including Lawrence Hurst (which we re-released a few weeks ago in a newly edited format), Ed Barker, Max Dimoff, and many others.

We’ve also featured quite a bit of John’s bass playing here, including a complete recital featuring music of Bach, Schubert, Dave Anderson, and Stanley Chepaitis. We also featured a couple of really interesting episodes covering orchestra excerpts and opera excerpts with an analysis of each excerpt followed by a performance from John of that excerpt. these are extremely useful practice guides—definitely check these out if you haven’t before—it’s episode 41 for the orchestra excerpts and episode 62 for the opera excerpts.

If you have the app, just search for “John Grillo” and you’ll find all of these episodes. I hope you enjoy this, and stay tuned for more from John in the future!

173: Marc Ramirez on Portugal, life as an expat, and differences between American and European orchestras

Gulbenkian Orchestra principal bassist Marc Ramirez

Today we are featuring an interview with Marc Ramirez. Originally from New York, Marc is the principal bassist with the Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, Portugal. Marc and I had a great conversation about his path to this job overseas, where he has now been for 17 years. We talk about similarities and differences in American and European orchestras, auditioning, traveling with a bass, his beautiful Cavani bass, and many other topics. We also feature excerpts from Marc’s performance of the Bottesini Grande Duo Concertante para Violino e Contrabaixo with Bin Chao on violin.

Up Magazine recently did a great profile on Marc covering his journey from the United States to Portugal, touring with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, and many other topics. Marc will also be performing the European premiere of the Harbison Bass Concerto in May of 2016. Enjoy!

172: Lauren Pierce and Geoff Chalmers on innovating online

Lauren Pierce and Geoff Chalmers

Today’s episode features Lauren Pierce and Geoff Chalmers, both of whom have been doing some remarkable things online in the world of the bass. What’s really cool is that these two have paired up to do a new web series called Ask Geoff and Lauren. In this episode, we talk about each of their respective sites and what they’ve been developing online. You can find Geoff online at discoverdoublebass.com and Lauren at laurenpiercebass.com and on her Facebook artist page at facebook.com/LaurenPierceBass. Enjoy!

About Geoff:

Based in the UK, Geoff has performed on numerous gigs, shows, cruise ships, tours and recording sessions. He has a degree in jazz bass, as well as a postgraduate diploma in classical music. In addition to being a busy freelance bassist Geoff is also an experienced educator having taught bass at schools, colleges and universities, as well as to hundreds of private students.

In August 2013 Geoff founded Discover Double Bass with it’s free lessons library covering a wide range of styles and techniques. The videos are now being viewed thousands of times each week and a new lesson is released every two weeks.

About Lauren:

Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Lauren began her musical studies at the age of seven on piano and voice. Later, she was introduced to the Double Bass and soon began lessons with the late Douglas Sommer, section bassist for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. While studying with Douglas Sommer, she continued her studies at the University of South Carolina under the tutelage of Dr. Craig Butterfield. During her studies at USC, Lauren was given the Presser Scholar Award, named a Magellan Scholar, and in 2010, performed a concerto with the University of South Carolina Symphony as the winner of that years USC Concerto Competition. After graduating from USC, Lauren moved to Denton, Texas to study the double bass with Jeffrey Bradetich. During this period, Lauren competed in the American String Teachers Association Competition and the International Society of Bassists Competition. In 2014, she was named coordinator of the Bradetich Summer Bass Camps.

171: Paul Ellison on musical athletes, period performance, and the comprehensive undergraduate experience

Paul Ellison working with young bassists.

It is our pleasure to bring you this interview with Paul Ellison. Paul is chair of strings and professor of double bass at Rice University, where he has taught for the past four decades. He is the former principal bass of the Houston Symphony, former president of the International Society of Bassists, and has had a significant impact on the double bass world. In this interview, we discuss Paul’s early background, his encounters with François Rabbath, being a musical athlete on the bass, gut strings and the adoption of steel strings, the undergraduate experience at Rice University, and many other topics. Enjoy!

About Paul:

Performing solo and ensemble concerts as well as giving master classes on the double bass and period instruments on four continents, Paul Ellison is the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Double Bass and chair of strings at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, Visiting Artist-Faculty University of Southern California and guest tutor at the Yehudi Menuhin School, the Royal College of Music, and Bass Club, England. Current summer positions include principal bass at the Grand Teton Music Festival, faculty/performer at the Sarasota Music Festival and faculty/performer at Festival Domaine Forget, Quebec. Former students hold titled positions in major ensembles and institutions of higher learning on five continents. Previous positions include principal bass of Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Aspen Festival Orchestras (also faculty), professor of double bass and chair of strings at the University of Southern California, and president of the International Society of Bassists. Ellison was the first to receive both the diploma and teaching certificate from Institut International Rabbath, Paris.